13 comments:

Reading the comments on the linked site is eye-opening ... is it so hard for us to accept that God's creation might be praised through multiple means (literature, song, one's interactions with humanity, vocation, AND even dance)? If there's one thing I love about the Jesuits, its their openness to expressing love of God through many different activities, from de Chardin's paleontology to celebrating Mass to helping ex-gang members to even performing a beautiful dance based in a culture that is thousands of years old. There is so much richness in God's creation, trying to find Him in all things (and in turn dedicating all our actions & pursuits for His greater glory) can be a wonderfully invigorating endeavor, one that will never cease to amaze me. Thank you for sharing this Jesuit's expression of love for God through dance.

When testing the success of making genuine change of a smoker into a non-smoker, it is possible to use measures that are non-invasive, in order to prevent the smoker from simply complying with situational expectations, as opposed to becoming a genuine non-smoker.

For one example, it is possible to count the number of cigarettes butts in the ashtray as a measure of smoking.

This implies that we don’t really care about the number of butts in the ashtray, except as a measure of something else being measured.

In the same way, the Bible tells us about values that are being measured. It also tells us about some judgments – analogous to “thou shalt have no butts in your ashtray”. We shouldn’t mistake such advice for any real understanding of what is being measured. There are those who can have “butts in their ashtray” and be aligned with God’s values.

Each of us is asked to change to reflect God’s immaterial values. Often, the material is simply “butts in an ashtray”. And your inappropriate response to “butts in an ashtray” is seen as a measure of your values.

Although it is not enough for real alignment with God’s values, but it may help, try to imagine that you are observing God performing this video. Have you put your own values and judgments over those of the performer?

Fr. George has robbed himself of his gift received of the Holy Spirit at his ordination. Fr. George knows that his activities discredits himself in the eyes of the faithful, yet he continues his hobby. Ballet is art yet it is not religious, this is Hindu religious dance and not art.

I don't think this is an expression of love but rather of sickness and delusion. Trying to equate a dance of praise (maybe a dance of vanity better describes) to the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is absurd. No wonder the Jesuits have lost half of the their vocations. I am reading a book about Fr. Walter Ciszek, now he is an authentic Priest and witness to the TRUTH. The best of the Jesuit legacy may be behind them. Sad.

You have to understand where this man is coming from. He obviously has a passion for dance and the main dance form he has seen is Bharatanatyam. As long as he is not worshipping any pagan gods, I think this falls within the limits of inculturation. In the past pagan practices like burning incense sticks made their way into Christian worship, but they were cleansed of their pagan meaning. Likewise this could apply to Fr George's dance.

Just felt amused by comments in this section by certain faith-filled brothers and sisters.There is nothing original in Christianity except Christ; everything else is an accretion along the way this great incarnational faith traveled.Some of the great Liturgical Classics' first notes were picked up by their composers from European Pubs that distributed beer! If Catholicism is understood as a colonial import to ever corner of the world, with its trappings and train, I would rather be a pagan! Gold, incense and myrrh were brought from the Orient to the Feet of the Baby when He was born; Oh, there is so much in India, as good as gold, incense and myrrh...and more!

There's nothing bad about to Christianize a hindu dance. Fr. Saju expresses our faith through bharatanatyam. I also dance bharatanatyam and trying to compose dances with stories of Jesus and in the bible. Thre's nothing bad about expressing our faith through dance. For me, dance somehow make our faith visible, tangible and interactive. We can see our faith in it. So, thers's nothing bad about it. Let us try to show alittle respect to this 2400 yr old dance form. Thank you

I am a catholic and a bharatanatyam dancer. I completely agree with Father George. My children and I perform at several temples and Hindu events however there is no venue to express the Christian faith via this beautiful medium of art. I hope people are able to look at it from a more progressive perspective

About Me

I am not a Jesuit, nor am I a cleric. I spent about 5 years under the spiritual direction of a Jesuit, 3 of those years in a weekly directed retreat in everyday life. The profound impact that the Society and the Excercises had upon my life, resulted in me, trying to deal with that impact in some way by sharing my view of Jesus Christ with others. My intention is to pull together Jesuitical and Catholic subjects that interest me. I was born on the feast day of St. Paul Miki, S.J.. I am the father of three small children and an infant, I am married to a great wife.